Into the Night

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a parapsychologist, or because I’m just naturally curious, but I’ve spent a large portion of my life defining my beliefs on the human condition and the spiritual realm.  I’m fascinated by the way people think and even more by why they think that way.  Even after all these years, and tons of personal experience, I remain in absolute awe of what the human mind and spirit is capable of.  It is definitely my opinion that we, as a species, are capable of both great acts of courage and wonder, and terrible acts of depravity and horror.

To ask me what I believe in is a dangerous question.    I don’t claim to have popular opinions.  I’ll be the first to tell you I believe in an afterlife.  I’ve had irrefutable personal proof of its existence.  Does that mean I think everyone else should be required to believe it?  No.  Beliefs on the afterlife are a very personal thing, and everyone should base their beliefs on their own experiences.  Do I believe in Heaven and Hell?  To the horror of most religions (and the constant bemusement of other Pagans), I have to answer “yes and no.”  I do not believe in the existence of a separate plane known as Heaven or Hell.  That’s the no.  What I believe is that we each make our own heaven and hell as we live.  We choose whether we’re going to live in that heaven or hell, by our actions and choices.  And we can tear them down as easily as they are built.

Do I believe in reincarnation?  Yes, I do.  To qualify this, I don’t believe in coming back as another animal (cool as that may sound …) I believe each species that reincarnates does so within the bounds of its own species.  The shock would be too great, otherwise.  But I do believe that people are reborn with lessons to learn, rewards to collect, and wrongs to make right.  I believe in the existence of a Karmic balance, which determines a large part of who we are when we’re born.

Do I believe in ghosts?  *chuckles* Yes would be such a mild answer to this!  I’ve had so many paranormal encounters involving the spirit realm in my life, I’d have to be an idiot to not believe.  But I believe in something more than ghosts.   I believe in a realm that exists side-by-side with our own, a realm of the Unseen, populated by the spirits of nature, humans, animals, and by other spirits which are older and wiser than we are.  I also believe in the existence of darker entities, in that realm.  While I do not believe they often have as much influence as some claim, I do believe they are a reality, and an influence.

  This barely scrapes the top of the barrel of my beliefs.  There’s a lot more I’ll go into as time goes on…

I know I haven’t covered everything, here… There’s so much to cover I’d spend the next lifetime on the subject if I tried to encompass everything.  So I figured this was as good a place as any to draw  things to a close.  If there’s anything you’ve read about that you have questions on, or anything you didn’t see here that you’d like information from me on, please feel free to e-mail me at esthermitchell (at) cox (dot) net.  If I don’t have immediate access to the research, I can usually point people in the direction of someone who does.

On a final note about this lecture:  The field of Parapsychology is an ever-growing and changing one, as we discover new things about the paranormal and the human mind and soul.  Everything I’ve included in this lecture is built solely on my research and experience, and is in no way intended to be the end-all of discussion or information on the subject.  I encourage anyone interested in studying the paranormal to do just that - study.  Research is as important as practical experience, and the more we all learn, the further the field can expand and deepen.  I can still be found with my nose in the research materials more often than not, and I’m constantly seeking out new sources of information, based on the findings and experiences of others.  It is my firm belief that the kiss of death for any science is when those involved in it quit testing new theories, new concepts.  I fully encourage debate, discussion, and the sharing of experiences and information.  I believe that it is through sharing our experiences and evidence that we come to a better understanding of that which is, at current, unknown or misunderstood.

Thank you all for joining me for this series.

Because the methods of dealing with the two different classes of vampire are so different, I thought it best to break this into two sections, and focus on each one in turn.

As discussed before, there are different types of Living vampires.  Each has its own methodology of interacting with other humans, and  therefore, its own set of guidelines for dealing with the vampire. 

The psychic vampire (by far, the most common type of Living vampire) feeds off of energy.  These vampires are also the easiest to deal with, on a personal level.  While they are, in fact, living human beings (and therefore illegal to kill) and psychic vampirism is difficult to prove, even if it’s easily detected, there are simple ways to safeguard oneself and family.  Learning to center, ground, and shield are the simplest ways to deal with this. 

What do I mean by “center, ground and shield”?  Let’s take it in three parts.  First, centering:

To center means to find your own inner balance.  Close your eyes and draw deep breaths, focusing on each indrawn breath and focus your mind on a kind of internal “white noise.”  Feel your energy (the Chinese call this Qi) gathering at the center of your being.  Some people like to meditate on the Chakric centers, which can definitely help the rest of the process move more easily.

Once you are still and focused, it’s time to ground, which is just what it implies.  Like an electrical plug can have a grounding prong, meant to keep the item from drawing in too much energy, spiritual grounding is a method by which you expell those energies you do not want within you.  Usually, negative energy attracts negative energy, and your negative energy will draw a psychic vampire more readily.  To ground that energy away, simply continue to breathe deeply and evenly, your eyes closed, and feel internal hands pushing that negative energy away, either down into the earth, or up into the air.  Most people report a sensation like a weight being lifted off of their chests as the negative energy flows away.

After grounding away your negative energy, you must shield yourself.  Shielding is a method by which you bar unwanted outside energies and entities from access to you.  You can visualize a shield as anything you want.  I’ve known people who’ve used everything from Star Trek shields to rainbows, to bubbles of water.  It’s been my experience that, when dealing with a psychic vampire, the best kind of shield is something reflective.  Visualize a mirrored ball, or a highly-reflective metal like silver or copper.  Something which directs the psychic vampire’s attempts to drain energy back at him/herself.

I know this all sounds a little strange, to some.  However, it’s actually based on centuries of advice and anecdotal evidence expressing the importance of mirrors when dealing with vampires.  When you understand that a psychic vampire’s energy is derived from stealing energy from others, it makes a world of sense to fight psychic drain with psychic defenses. 

The other primary category of Living vampire - the Blood Drinker - is not so easily dealt with, unfortunately.  Little is known about WHY they feel compelled to drink human blood (and no, I’m not talking about the underground Goth culture, here.  I’m talking about living human beings unable to control their urge to drink human blood).  Some theorize that it stems from a genetic encoding caused by Prophyria and, because the person’s body cannot generate enough blood cells of their own, they’re literally starving for the blood they can’t get otherwise.  That the blood they drink does nothing for their need for sustenance (because it simply breaks down in the stomach) never occurs to them, and they go on looking for more and more blood, hoping to get enough.  That’s one theory.  Another is that there is a psychological condition involved, leading them to believe they need blood to survive, when in fact, they don’t.  There are literally as many theories of why as there are recorded cases of Living Blood Drinkers.

Dealing with the Living Blood Drinkers is difficult, because again, they are living human beings, and also because we don’t yet know WHY they are compelled to do this.  Most times, they end up locked up in mental institutions once they are revealed to the authorities.  They should be considered highly dangerous and unpredictable, and should not, under any circumstance, be approached by anyone not trained to deal with them.  They are reputed, through historical record, to be extremely strong (likely caused by an overabundance of adrenaline in the system) and very fast.